<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Time of Our Lives by Chloep88</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29520903">Time of Our Lives</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chloep88/pseuds/Chloep88'>Chloep88</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Julie and The Phantoms (TV 2020)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Gen</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 16:53:54</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>12,503</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29520903</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chloep88/pseuds/Chloep88</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Alex, Reggie and Luke have been given an unexpected new chance at life. Will they fulfil their dreams this time?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Alex Mercer &amp; Julie Molina, Alex Mercer &amp; Luke Patterson &amp; Reggie Peters (Julie and The Phantoms), Flynn &amp; Julie Molina, Julie Molina &amp; Reggie Peters, Julie Molina/Luke Patterson, Reggie Peters/Carrie Wilson</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>38</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Wake up, wake up if it's all you do</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hello everybody :) </p><p>I discovered Julie and the Phantoms while being at home and battling a mild case of Covid. I love the show and it made me want to write again<br/>This is my first fan-fiction and the first story I've written in a long time. You feedback is very welcome<br/>Hope you enjoy it!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The beeping in the hospital was the only noise that kept her awake. Hospitals were so quiet at night that she felt even more alone with her thoughts, but the beeping also reminded her that she wasn’t alone and that her three boys were still fighting for their life. </p><p>She spent most of her nights at the hospital because she felt even more lonely at home; more time alone with her thoughts and guilt. If she didn’t have to stay late at the office, they would have never been in that accident, and they wouldn’t be connected to all these machines. She still remembers how the doctors told her that despite surviving the accident, they were in a coma and they didn’t know when - or if - they would wake up. She loved them so much that it was unbearable for her to think about losing them. </p><p>She must have fallen asleep because when she wakes up the sun is shining through the windows, but that wasn’t what woke her up. It was a hand squeezing hers. Her head bolted up and suddenly she was looking into big green eyes. Her eyes started to tear seeing him awake. </p><p>“Luke” she called him</p><p>Luke was looking around the room confused and when he heard her calling his name, he turned to her. He looked at her confused like he didn't know who she was, and he started to panic. </p><p>“Where am I? Who are you? Where is Julie?Why am I attached to all these machines? Why are Alex and Reggie attached to all those machines?”  His voice started to raise and so did the beeping of the machine he was attached to. </p><p>A sudden fear went through her but she couldn’t panick too, she needed to keep calm. </p><p>“Luke, darling. It’s me Hayley” she explained “You are at the hospital. You, Alex and Reggie were in a car accident and you have been in a coma for over 3 weeks” Luke looked at her in disbelief and vigorously shook his head. </p><p>“No, how can we even drive?” He looked at her in disbelief “We were in the garage playing. We had a great gig last night and we might have landed a meeting with a producer. We knew we didn’t have enough time, but we still had time…” </p><p>“Darling, you were coming back from a basketball game when you had the accident. You were coming back home. You didn’t have any concert that week -- you guys have been pretty lazy about practicing lately” </p><p>“No, you are lying” He started to get angry “We were in the studio and we were practising together. I want to see Julie. Where is Julie???” </p><p>Luke seemed on the verge of tears and the beeping seemed to have gone crazier than before. Hailey wondered how the doctors didn’t even rush over. </p><p>“I’m going to get the doctor.Please stay calm, please. I’ll get the doctor now”</p><p>She ran out to get the doctor trying to keep calm while in reality she was panicking.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Like a crash, the whole thing spun out of control</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>He didn’t know how he got to the hospital. He doesn’t know either how he went from playing with Julie and the boys in her garage to be on a hospital bed. Being back in the hospital brought back painful memories. He shook his head because this wasn’t the moment. The boys and him have been feeling weird lately and they did wonder if their time was about to come. They thought they would have time to say goodbye -- he needed to say goodbye to Julie. Tears ran down his cheeks and when he looked across the room at Alex and Reggie, they were crying too. He looked away towards the open door where the woman from earlier was talking to the doctors. </p><p>As soon she came back with the doctor and nurses, Reggie and Alex woke up. They were both confused and they started panicking as soon as they realised that they were not in the garage. The doctor quickly sedated them and they soon drifted to sleep. When Luke woke up a few hours later, Alex and Reggie were still asleep and they were alone in the room. </p><p>The woman’s voice brought him back from his thoughts. She seemed anxious and she was asking a lot of questions to a very patient doctor. The thought that she was in distress made him suddenly feel a pang of guilt but he didn’t know why. He observed how after the doctor patted her shoulder in reassurance before leaving, she took a deep breath and came into the room. She smiled at them trying to be reassuring but Luke could tell that she didn’t know what to do next. </p><p>“The doctor said that you have some sort of temporary amnesia which is why you seem to recollect completely different events” </p><p>Luke was about to interrupt her but he caught Alex’s look which told him to don’t say anything. The woman - Luke couldn’t remember her name - came to sit next to him. </p><p>“It’s not great but I’m just so happy that you guys are alive and well. We will figure out everything else”</p><p>She reached Luke’s hand and gave it a squeeze. Luke felt both the need to pull his hand away and pull her for a hug. She seemed slightly upset that she didn’t get any reaction from him and her eyes were glistening when she pulled away. </p><p>“Right. Why don’t I go to get you some decent food? Even if this is a very nice hospital, they don’t have burgers and milkshakes” She grabbed her bag and walked to the door “I’ll be back in an hour or so. Love you” She smiled nervously at them before heading out. </p><p>The boys waited for her to close the door behind  before starting panicking again. </p><p>“What the hell is going on? What the hell happened to us?”  Luke asked, looking at them in panic. </p><p>“No idea. But it seems that we are now human” Reggie put a hand on his heart to feel his heartbeat which still freaked him out. Alex rolled his eyes. </p><p>“Of course, dude. The beeping of the machines wouldn't work if we were dead and we would definitely be in the morgue, not in a hospital room.” </p><p>“But we look the same” commented Reggie “Well, our hair seems different but otherwise we look like we did before. This is freaky!” </p><p>“Of course it's freaky!” exclaimed Alex. “We are alive, we die, we are back as ghosts and now back to be alive. This is super freakish!” </p><p>“Alex, calm down. I know this is a very weird situation but we need to keep calm” </p><p>“I know and I am trying. You know I don’t deal well with change” </p><p>“At least you are not nervously practicing your model strut” murmured Luke loud enough for Alex to hear. Alex glared at him. </p><p>“But there is also nothing we can do now. Let’s wait for that woman to come back and ask her some questions” </p><p>“I hope she gets me chocolate milkshake” Alex shook his head at Reggie. </p><p>“I think I am related to her” Both Reggie and Alex looked at Luke. </p><p>“What?” Luke just shook his head in disbelief. </p><p>“Don’t ask him why and how but I just have this feeling. Even earlier I felt bad that she was getting all anxious because of us - super weird.” Luke plopped down into his pillow. </p><p>“It’s also weird that she is the only one here” commented Reggie “Do we have fucked families in this reality too?” Alex reached over to squeeze his hand in reassurance. </p><p>“Let’s just wait for her to come back and we will ask her some questions” </p><p>“Yes. No need to panic..for now”</p><p>Luke sighed. He just wanted to know what was going on: why were they alive again? Where were they? And most importantly, where was Julie?</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Without a song or a dance what are we?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hello! I was hoping that I had time to post sooner but hopefully I will be able to post more regularly in the future.  </p><p>Thank you for the kudos and the lovely comments -- it's great to see that people like the story! 💜</p><p>Enjoy this new chapter! ☺️</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hayley got back to the hospital with two massive bags full of burgers and milkshakes for her and the boys. She hadn't eaten since 8pm last night but she wasn’t really hungry. She was nervous. She knew that the boys were eager to ask her questions and to be honest, she wouldn’t mind asking some herself, but she needed to listen to the doctor's advice. Let them lead the conversation and not overload them with information. She wasn’t sure how to do that. She was so happy that they were awake that she didn’t want them to have a mental breakdown. </p><p>She took a big breath and entered their room.</p><p>“I hope you guys are hungry! I got so much food it could feed an army!”  </p><p>She started distributing the food and drinks to the boys and they dug in straight away. She smiled at that, ’Well something didn’t change’. The boys were too focused on eating the food that they nearly forgot that they did want to ask her some questions. They have not properly eaten in 27 years and they were savoring every bit of it. Reggie smiled blissfully when he drank his milkshake. Chocolate was just the best.  </p><p>They finished their food in record time while Hailey barely touched her food. She could see that the boys were looking at each other nervously and she knew what was coming so she plastered a smile on her face. </p><p>“Do you guys need anything else? Some snacks or drinks?”</p><p>The three boys were having a silent conversation between them before Luke spoke.</p><p>“No, the food was awesome. Thank you” He paused before continuing “We do have some questions though. Is it ok if we ask you?” </p><p>“Of course” Hailey hoped her voice didn’t betray her nervousness. </p><p>“Ok.. so” Luke forgot what questions they agreed to ask. </p><p>“What day is it?” intervened Alex.</p><p>“It’s May 10th 2021”</p><p>‘We are in the same year!Our concert was on May 8th 2021’ Alex thought. He looked at Reggie and Luke and they all smiled -- Julie was still here, their band was still here. </p><p>“Where are we?” </p><p>“Boston” </p><p>‘Well that might be a problem’ Alex thought. </p><p>“Who are you?” Luke asked. Hailey winced at that and Alex scowled at him from across the room. Luke felt a tiny bit guilty for it.</p><p>“I am your aunt. Hailey” </p><p>“Why are you the only one here? Don’t we have parents?” </p><p>“Maybe we should have this conversation tomorrow. It has been a long day” Hailey tried to put off this conversation but Luke was resolute. </p><p>“It has been not! We are full of energy. Please” </p><p>“I think it might be too soon. I don’t want to stress you out too much with too much information” </p><p>“You won't” Reggie reassured her.</p><p>Hailey knew she shouldn't continue but something in the boys’ eyes told her that they will be fine - they won’t break that easily. She sighed for the millionth time that day. </p><p>“They are dead” she answered simply. </p><p>“All our parents are dead?” asked Reggie </p><p>“No, no. Luke’s parents are. My brother and his wife” </p><p>“Where are my parent’s and Reggie’s parents?” </p><p>“Reggie’s parents are travelling. They will be back soon” She tried to keep her voice calm because thinking about Reggie’s parents made her blood boil. “While Alex, your family situation is not very stable at at the moment, so you live with me” </p><p>“I live with you?” Alex asked </p><p>“Yes, with me, Luke and Reggie” </p><p>“Even me?Aren’t my parents just travelling?” asked Reggie curious. </p><p>“Yes, even you. You parents…” Hailey paused for a second “They travel a lot lot so we have this unspoken agreement that you stay with us when they are gone” </p><p>The boys remained in silence for a moment trying to digest what she told them. It didn’t seem that their family situation was much better in this new life. </p><p>“How old are we?” Reggie asked suddenly. Alex and Luke snapped from their thoughts and looked at Hailey - why didn't they ask that first?! </p><p>“You are nearly 18 and about to graduate high school” Luke snorted at the last part. </p><p>“We go to high school?” Hailey frowned. </p><p>“Yes...you are pretty good students too” Luke made a disgusted face. </p><p>“Do we play any music?” Alex asked. He needed to change the subject before Luke went into his school rant. </p><p>“Oh...not really! You listen to music but I’ve never seen you play any instruments” </p><p>Luke was speechless. No music in their lives? How could that even be possible? He didn’t like this new them. Great students, no music. They probably dressed like preppy boys. He probably wore sleeves. Luke quietly gasped. </p><p>“So we are not in a band?” Reggie asked quietly. </p><p> “Not that I know of” </p><p>Hailey felt that knowing that they didn’t play any instruments hit them harder than when she told them about their parents. </p><p>“You can play music if you want” Hailey added and the boys looked at her surprised “If you guys want to form a band and take up different instruments, why not? We have enough space that you won’t destroy my ears”</p><p>“Really?” Hailey nodded at them. </p><p>“Well I think we have covered quite a lot today. We can continue tomorrow” Hailey stood from the chair she was sitting and grabbed her bag. “I’m going home but I’ll be back in the morning. Hopefully they will tell me then when you can be discharged” </p><p>“Thank you for getting us burgers and milkshakes!” said Reggie </p><p>“Yes, thank you” </p><p>“Thank you” </p><p>“My pleasure” Hailey smiled at them one last time “Get some rest. See you tomorrow” and with that she left. </p><p>The boys looked at each other after the door closed and slumped on their beds. </p><p>“Guys, I really don’t understand what happened. How is this whole thing possible?” asked Luke.</p><p>“How are ghosts possible? Another question mark in the million questions marks that we had since we came back as ghosts” Alex groaned. </p><p>“Maybe we have reincarnated” added Reggie. Luke and Alex both frowned. “No listen to me. When Carlos was doing all that research into ghosts, there were a lot of articles talking about reincarnation, especially how ghosts will eventually reincarnate. Reincarnation is a totally normal thing” </p><p>“If that’s the case, then we should’ve reincarnated while were still babies and not in grown up bodies of people that look and sound just like us” commented Alex</p><p>“Hey, I’m not an expert.”  exclaimed Reggie. Alex was about to argue back but Luke stopped him.  </p><p>“Guys!Not knowing what happened sucks but like we did before, there is no point stressing too much about it” </p><p>“Of course...” murmured Alex but Luke chose to ignore him.   </p><p>“We are alive! Alive! We can finally make our dreams come true and become music legends!” Reggie and Alex both smiled excitedly at that. </p><p>“We just need Julie!”  </p><p>“Yes, Julie” Luke nearly jumped on the bed “We need to get to Julie”</p><p>“How?” </p><p>“Car, flying, I don’t know but we need to get back to L.A.” </p><p>“We do need money for that” </p><p>“We could ask Julie!” exclaimed Alex “Think! We are teenagers in 2021 so most likely we have a phone. I remember Julie’s number so we can call her!” </p><p>“That’s a genius idea Alex!”  If Luke wasn’t feeling still a bit weak, he would have jumped up and down the bed. </p><p>“We could also ask Hailey” suggested Reggie. Luke shook his head. </p><p>“That’s a bad idea dude”</p><p>“Why? She seems very nice and we probably have money. This looks like a nice private hospital room” Of course the room was more modern than a room in a hospital in the 90s, but it looked luxurious “If we explain her the situation, she will help us. I have this feeling that I cannot explain towards her…” </p><p>“I know, I have it too” Luke nodded at Reggie “But she lost so much already so maybe let’s wait before telling her. Let’s call Julie as soon as we can”</p><p>“We will ask Hailey for our phones tomorrow and we will call Julie” said Alex “I hope we don’t freak her out” </p><p>“Of course she will freak!” Luke growled  “She must have thought we crossed over!”</p><p>The last thing either of them would have ever wanted to do is to hurt Julie. Luke promised her that when the time came for them, they would say goodbye - he would say goodbye. Luke just wanted to hear her voice and reassure her that everything will be fine. Luke wanted to hold her tight and never let go. Finally there were no more barriers between him and Julie, no more lifers and ghosts. He smiled at the thought as he let sleep take over him.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Hey, we, oh we're still alive</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Here is another chapter for you :) Julie is finally here! </p>
<p>Thank you again for the comments and kudos! Love your support! </p>
<p>Update really soon this weekend!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When Luke woke up the next day, it took him a while to remember where he was but soon everything came back to him. He smiled widely. They were alive! They could finally be what they set up to be when they were 12 years old. Despite making it work with Julie, it was difficult to have meetings with managers without most of the band being there,  which is why Flynn was still acting as their manager. Touring might have been easier but people already started to get suspicious at the venues they were playing and wanted to figure out how their hologram machine worked. Thankfully for them, Flynn and Ray always managed to fend them off but for how long will that have worked? Now, none of that would be a problem. As soon as they got back to Julie, they would find a manager and skyrocket from there, he was sure of it.</p>
<p>He started humming loudly and decided to wake up the boys by jumping on Reggie’s bed. Reggie, who was still in deep sleep, woke up startled and nearly threw Luke off the bed. Alex groaned at the noises and put his head under his pillow. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Luke, why did you do that?”</p>
<p>“Rise and shine boys!” </p>
<p>“You are usually not this cheerful so early in the morning” murmured Alex.  </p>
<p>“This is the first day of our new life boys!” Luke slung his arm around Reggie’s shoulder who couldn’t not smile at his friend's excitement. </p>
<p>“Still too early. Let the day start later” Alex buried himself even more under his pillow. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Reggie and Luke looked at each other, smirking and jumped in Alex’s bed who didn’t appreciate it at all. He was about to throw them both out of bed when they heard a voice coming from the door.  </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Well, who would believe that you were in a coma until yesterday?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The boys straightened up and saw Hayley smiling at them. She was carrying a few bags with her that she put down next to Luke’s bed. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You shouldn’t overdo it” </p>
<p>“We are just happy to be alive” Luke gave her one his perfect smiles, the one he reserved when he needed to get himself out of trouble. Hayley laughed at him. </p>
<p>“That smile doesn’t work on me” Hayley motioned them to go back to their beds “I'm very happy that you are feeling much better but the doctors advised to take it easy. They want to keep you in observation for a few more days”. Luke let an exasperated sigh. </p>
<p>“How long?”</p>
<p>“Four days or so. They want to make sure that you are 100% fine before going home. But don’t worry, I brought reinforcements!”  </p>
<p> </p>
<p>She started to unpack the bags and handed over to them a phone and a laptop. ‘That saves us from asking her about our phones’ Luke thought. He couldn’t not notice that each of them had their own phones and laptops, and he was sure that it was the latest technology. He remembered Julie tried to convince her dad to get her a new laptop just like the one he had not, but Ray commented that it was way out of budget. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I also brought you some notebooks, books and snacks”  Hailey added while piling things up on one of the tables in the room.</p>
<p>“Thank you” </p>
<p>“Of course, anything” She gave Luke’s hand a quick squeeze “I know that you might have some more questions but can we postpone them to this evening? I have to get to the office to take care of a few things so I can be home for a few days when you are back”</p>
<p>“Of course, there is no rush”</p>
<p>“Great! If you need anything, my number is in your favourites. I took off the password so you can get into them easily. I'll bring dinner later, any preferences?” </p>
<p>“Can we get Mexican?” Reggie asked excitedly. </p>
<p>“Of course. Level 2 spicy still ok?” The boys nodded at that “Perfect! I’ll see you guys this evening. Lov…”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hailey stopped herself before she finished the sentence. She smiled at them but they could see a hint of sadness before she walked out of the door. The boys couldn’t stop the feeling of guilt and sadness at seeing her sad but there was little they could do at the moment. </p>
<p>They looked down at their phones and laptops and they felt weird at the thought of going through somebody else’s things. The notion of having two selves was still foreign to them and their new them felt like strangers. Also, what if they hated what they found? What if they were horrible people? </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Let’s do this” for once it was Alex that took the leap and the other two followed suit.  </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Luckily, Julie, Flynn and Carlos showed them how the new phones and laptops worked so they weren’t completely clueless how to use them. They were silent for a long time while they went through their new them’s lives. They went through their photo albums and they found that the majority of the pictures were of the three of them alone or with Hailey. They seemed like a family and they could see that Hailey really loved those boys. There were other photos where they were with girls and boys that they didn’t know (possible friends, or girlfriends and boyfriends?!), but none of them seemed close to them. Alex saw a few pictures of him hugging two women, one quite old and a much younger looking one, and they were all smiling at the camera. Reggie had some pictures with a man and a woman which he could count in one hand, and he presumed that those were his parents. What shocked them the most was that they looked much preppier in those pictures, more polished -- completely different from their own style. They avoided the Spotify app. They were still recovering from discovering that they didn’t play music, and if their music tastes were also completely different, it would have been too much for them to digest. Luke shivered at the thought of him being into the likes of One Direction. If she knew, Julie will never let him live that down </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Julie! We need to call her!” He suddenly remembered their plan from the day before. </p>
<p>“We need to figure out a way to do it right.We don’t want to freak her out” commented Alex </p>
<p> “Totally! I really don’t want to be screamed at again. That girl has some pipes!” winced Reggie thinking about the first time they met Julie. </p>
<p>“She will freak out one way or another” said Luke “We disappeared on her so she probably thought we crossed over. There is not a good way to do it and we need to get back to L.A.” </p>
<p>“Let’s do this”  </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Reggie and Alex moved to Luke’s bed and sat next to each other while Luke dialed Julie’s number. He decided to call her with a FaceTime video because he knew that she needed to see them to believe that they were alive. It took forever for Julie to answer the phone. Before they could say anything, she screamed at the phone and dropped it on the floor. The boys waited for her to calm down before trying to call for her. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Julie. Are you still there?” </p>
<p>“Julie, please pickup the phone” pleaded Luke “I know this is crazy, crazier than our usual crazy,  but it’s us. Please pickup the phone so we can explain” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>The boys hold their breath while they waited for Julie to pick up her phone, hoping that she won’t just hang up on them. Thankfully, Julie gathered her phone and looked at them. As soon she really saw them, she started crying which only made the boys start crying too. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Julie please don’t cry” Luke begged her. </p>
<p>“Ho..how...is... th..this pos..si..ble” she asked between the sobs. “I thought you crossed over…” </p>
<p>“I know and we don’t know what happened but we are alive Julie. We are alive”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Julie started to laugh and cry at the same time. Her boys were alive, they didn’t abandon them.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I cannot believe it!” </p>
<p>Julie tried to compose herself because now that she processed what happened, she had so many questions. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Where are you?” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>The boys told her about waking up in the hospital and what they learn so far from Hailey. Luke didn’t tell her though that they didn’t play music. Too embarrassed. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“That’s all we have for now” </p>
<p>“But we need your help to figure out how to come back to LA”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Julie seemed to be deep in thought and she didn't answer them straight away.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I need to call you back” The boys looked at her puzzled “I’ll call you back in 15 minutes. Promise.” And with that she hung up on them. </p>
<p>“Do you think we broke Julie?” Reggie asked quietly. Luke and Alex both shrugged their shoulders. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>As promised, Julie called them back in 15 minutes later which made Alex dall of the bed when Luke’s weird and loud ring tone went off. Alex stood up from the floor and winced at the pain on his back. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Definitely alive” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>When Luke answered the phone, the entire Molina’s family and Flynn crowded their screen. Chaos erupted from then. Ray, Carlos and Flynn were shocked when they saw them on the screen, and they couldn’t stop their tears of joy when they realised that it was actually them. The boys were just so happy to see their family again. Since Julie lifted Caleb’s mark over a year agot, they became more solid and with time, they were able to be seen by Carlos, Ray and Flynn. Carlos and Flynn were ecstatic when that happened: Carlos loved having brothers around to play video games, and Flynn could finally stop feeling like the fifth wheel in their group. It took a bit of time for Ray to come around having three teenage ghost boys in the house, but when he did, he embraced the boys as their own. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“It's great to see you mijos. We missed you” Ray smiled fondly at them.</p>
<p>“You cannot imagine how great it’s to see all of you. We really miss you” Reggie teared up even more. Both Alex and Luke nodded. </p>
<p>“We just cannot wait to be back in LA” </p>
<p>“I’ve filled them in on what you told me. I thought it would be best to involve Dad with this” Julie explained.  </p>
<p>“It might be a bit more complicated than you might expect,” said Ray. </p>
<p>“Why?” Luke asked. </p>
<p>“First of all, you didn’t just come back to life in your old bodies. You came back in new bodies that belonged to an actual living person” Ray explained. “Those people had a life before you took over their bodies, they have identities, they have families” </p>
<p>“I don’t understand how that is a problem” Ray ignored Luke. </p>
<p>“Second, you are not yet 18 which means that there are people still legally responsible for you. This woman, Hailey, seemed to be responsible for all you and she cannot just let you move on the other side of the country” </p>
<p>“What are we going to do then?” Luke was getting impatient and started to fidget. He just wanted to get back to L.A. Alex and Reggie took his hands in theirs to calm him down. </p>
<p>“You can wait until you are 18” </p>
<p>“That will take months!” </p>
<p>“Or you could also speak to Hailey and explain her the situation” </p>
<p>“That’s a bad idea!” </p>
<p>“I don’t think it is” chimed in Reggie. </p>
<p>“Do you remember how long it took Ray to come around the idea of ghosts?” recalled Alex</p>
<p>“We are not ghosts anymore” </p>
<p>“No, you are just ghosts reincarnated into living people” commented sarcastically Flynn. </p>
<p>“That will be much easier to explain” said Reggie. Everybody but Ray frowned at Reggie. </p>
<p>“Maybe we need to come up with a better story but that will be the quickest way for you to come back to L.A.” Ray said </p>
<p>“Let’s do that. These new us don’t even play music” Luke sighed </p>
<p>“YOU DON’T PLAY MUSIC?” Julie was looking at them in disbelief. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>They kept talking for the rest of the afternoon filling in Julie and the rest of their family on what they found about their new selves, while catching up on what they missed so far back home. Even on a video call, Julie and Luke couldn’t stop looking at each other whenever they could. They will soon be back with their family and back making music history with Julie. One way or another, they will make sure of that.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Our house is a very, very, very fine house</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>New chapter is here! </p><p>Next chapter will be much longer and most likely, I won't be able to post it before the weekend. </p><p>Thank you all for the kudos and comments :) love to hear your feedback!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The next few days passed in a blur for the boys. Hayley came to visit them every day and she answered other questions about their lives. They silently agreed not to ask any family related questions; Alex and Reggie knew that their family situation was complicated and a touchy subject since Hailey didn’t expand much into it. </p><p>They were surprised to learn that despite their new them being quite different from their old them, they were also very similar. First of all, they didn’t have friends aside from the three of them, just lots of acquaintances which were the ones in the photos on their phone. Second, Alex still loved to dance and he was part of the dance club at school; Reggie was still obsessed with sci-fi and he was a Star Wars fan; and Luke was still obsessed with writing just not music, but poems which wasn’t really that much different. They also had a big collection of comics from Marvel to DC which they used to collect back in the 90s. One of the biggest differences, aside from not making music, was that they were model students and off to college in the fall. Luke was also shocked to learn that he was in the varsity hockey team -- he hated team sports! He liked the gym but he drew the line at everything else. They also seem to be into completely different music: not much rock but lots of pop, indie and hip pop. Luke nearly had a heart attack when he saw One Direction in his playlists. </p><p>This newfound information also sparked multiple debates with Julie and Flynn during their daily calls. Luke was right, Julie will never let live down that his new him liked One Direction, and he needs to thank Reggie for that since he spilled the beans. Julie found their new lives quite intriguing and the two of them kept texting constantly during the day. At first, they got their friends involved in the band group chat but it got so bad that the others banned them from texting each other within the group. Despite the constant texting, they spoke on the phone with Julie and Flynn for hours in the evening after Hailey went home. They were also trying to figure out how they will continue with their calls when they will be back at the house since Hailey would be around most of the time. It crossed their mind to tell her the truth and explain who Julie, Flynn, Carlos and Ray were, but they decided against it...for now. </p><p>Today was the day the boys will finally go home -- their new theme's house, not home as Luke repeated to Alex and Reggie -- and they were actually excited. First of all, it meant no more being closed in a hospital; and second, it meant that they were just getting closer to get back to their actual home and family. Hailey had brought them some clothes and they were  very different from what they used to wear. These clothes were preppy, polished and for Luke’s annoyance, they had sleeves. ‘Definitely something Nick will wear Luke thought with disgust while inspecting a striped polo shirt. Hailey caught up quickly to their discomfort while they were changing. </p><p> </p><p>“Is everything all right?” </p><p>“Yeah” replied Luke unconvinced. </p><p>“That doesn't sound convincing.What’s wrong?” The boys looked at each other unsure of what to say. </p><p>“These clothes…” Luke started. </p><p>“What’s wrong with them?” </p><p>“Nothing, nothing at all” Hailey raised an eyebrow at his comment. </p><p>“We are not sure this is us” added Alex quickly. </p><p>“Oh…” </p><p> </p><p>Hailey didn’t know what to say. She didn’t buy the boys clothes anymore and everything they had they bought themselves. The doctors told her that they might show some changes in behaviours and likes but it still took her by surprise. To be honest though, she didn’t mind them changing their wardrobe - she hated their preppy style. </p><p> </p><p>“OK. Wear these clothes now until we get home and you can check out what is there that you want to keep. We can go shopping tomorrow” The boys looked at her stunned. </p><p>“Are you sure?” </p><p>“Of course!” </p><p>“But they seem expensive clothes…” commented Reggie but Hailey waved him off. </p><p>“Some people that really need it will make better use of them” </p><p>“Thank you” </p><p>“Don’t thank me. When I was your age, I had to wear clothes that I hated. It will make me a hypocrite if I forced to wear something that makes you uncomfortable” </p><p> </p><p>The boys nodded and gave her a thankful smile. ‘Damn, she is so cool. I wished I had somebody like her in my previous life.’ Alex thought and instantly felt guilty about not telling her the truth. Luke and Reggie were having the same exact internal conflict. </p><p> </p><p>“I need to go sign your discharge papers and then we should be set to go home. Get dressed, I’ll pick you up in a few minute” Hailey told them. </p><p> </p><p>They nodded while she stepped out of the room. While they were getting dressed, they started arguing about telling Hailey the truth or not. </p><p> </p><p>“We cannot tell her now” Luke argued while putting jeans on. </p><p>“We need to,” Alex argued back while struggling with his jumper. “I don’t feel comfortable lying to her. She is a nice person and she doesn’t deserve this” </p><p>“Don’t you think we will hurt her more if we tell her the truth?” Reggie finished to button his shirt but realised that he buttoned it wrong. He sighed and started again.  </p><p>“We will hurt her even more if we continue to keep this from her'' Alex sat down on the bed and looked at his hands which feel nake without his things “I can see they way she love us, or his new us, and I wished I has somebody like that when were growing up. I don't want to keep deceiving her” Luke could feel Alex’s pain and he hated it. He went to sit next to Alex and put an arm around his shoulders.  </p><p>“I know buddy. I promise we will tell her very soon” Alex wasn’t really convinced but nodded regardless and put his head on Luke’s shoulder while Reggie squeezed his hand in support.  </p><p>“You guys ready to go home?” </p><p>The boys were startled by the sudden voice in the room. When they turned, they could see Hailey smiling at them. </p><p> </p><p>They took their bags and followed Hailey to the hospital car park where they hopped into a black SUV. The drive wasn’t too long but the boys enjoyed seeing Boston, or what it was probably the surrounding area of the city. They got into a more leafy neighbourhood where the houses became more far in between, when Hailey turned into a smaller road which, after opening the gate, it brought them into a large driveway. The boy's widened. The house was huge! It was a big redbrick house with three floors and a big porch with a swing surrounded by a very big garden. Hailey parked in front of a three car garage and got out. They were still stunned that Hailey had to call them a couple of times before they followed her inside the house. ‘This is a mansion!’  Reggie thought while looking speechless at the big wooden staircase. Hailey laughed at their stunned faces. </p><p> </p><p>“Do you want to have a tour or do you want to go directly to your rooms?” </p><p>“Tour!” The three of them shouted at the same time. </p><p> </p><p>‘How rich are they?’ Luke thought while Hailey showed them the library ‘Who the hell has a library in their house!’. Each room they went through was so big that they could have easily fitted the garage twice. Before going upstairs, Hailey brought them outside where their mouths just flyed open. The garden was huge and it had a pool. ‘A pool! Oh man, I cannot wait to use that’ thought Reggie looking longingly at the pool before he got dragged along.  Hailey brought them a bit further down the garden, on the other side of the garage, where they had a playroom.  </p><p> </p><p>“You tend to spend most of your time here.If you want to get into music, we can transform this into a music room” The boys looked at Hailey ecstatic. </p><p> </p><p>Back into the house, Hailey brought them upstairs outside three bedrooms doors on the right side of the landing.  </p><p> </p><p>“Here we are” The boys looked at her confused. </p><p>“Which one is our room?” Hailey was perplexed. </p><p>“All of them” The boys were speechless.  </p><p>“What?” </p><p>“What are the other two bedrooms for?” Reggie asked excitedly. Luke flipped his shoulder. </p><p>“Each of us has a bedroom?” Alex asked.</p><p>“Of course. Two of you officially live here, and Reggie unofficially too.” </p><p>“Ah…” </p><p>“Is it something wrong?” </p><p>“No. We just thought we will bunk” Hailey let out a small laugh. </p><p>“You did that when you were little but you all needed your own space. We actually set them up just a couple of years after I came to stay here. When I realised that you spent more time here than home, I understood that this dynamic wasn’t going to change anytime soon so might as well get you boys a room. They were not going to be used anyway” </p><p>“That was so awesome of you” Luke said. Hailey smiled at him. </p><p>“No problem. Also, when you brought somebody over, you were glad that your friends weren’t bunking with you” Hailey winked which made them blush furiously at the implication of her comment. Hailey could stop from bursting out laughing and gave them a pat in the back before leaving them to get settled.</p><p> </p><p>Their rooms were spacious and with all the latest technology gadgets -- or that’s what they thought, everything looked so shiny. Luke wasn’t particularly thrilled about the lack of music around this room but his new self had a vinyl player and thankfully, no weird pop vinyls, just some good blues. </p><p> </p><p>“This place is amazing!!!” commented Reggie rushing to Luke’s room.</p><p>“Yeah, it’s pretty awesome. I found a pass to the Boston ballet” Alex was beaming. </p><p>“It’s pretty sweet,” Luke smiled at them. </p><p>“And Hailey is bringing us shopping tomorrow for new clothes!”</p><p>“And we can get new instruments” Luke could only dream of going into a music shop and buy what he wanted. </p><p>“Maybe…” he started “We could stay here until we are all 18. It will be the safer plan” </p><p>“Yeah…And maybe we don’t have to tell Hailey the truth straight away” added Alex. </p><p> </p><p>The boys smiled at each other - yes, maybe they could stay here for a little bit longer and enjoy their new selves lives for a while.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. When you see my face, hope it gives you hell</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hello! </p>
<p>Love to see more that people are really enjoying the story :) </p>
<p>This chapter was going to be very very long but decided to break it down into two - this and the next chapter will give you more insight into the boys's new families. </p>
<p>Hope you enjoy :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Their first night in the new house was both exciting and awkward. They loved exploring their new comforts and luxuries, especially the pool and the games where they spent most of their afternoon. But the house was also full of past memories of their new them which made them feel like strangers in their own house. They were pictures all around the house of the boys and Hailey, and also of other people that Luke presumed it was his parents and grandparents. Looking at these pictures brought up feelings that they knew weren't theirs -- Luke felt the sadness and the longing he had when thinking about his parents, but he also felt pure love and happiness too. No guilt or regrets like he did when he thought about his parents mostly, and it made Luke feeling even worse. He also started to question their decision to not tell Hailey. From what he learned before, he knew she loved him and Alex and Reggie very much, but being at the house, even for less than a day, made him really realise how much she loved them. She must have been quite young when his parents died which meant she must have sacrificed her own dreams to take care of him. Probably she didn’t think that by taking care of him, she would be taking care of another two children. Luke knew that they would break her heart when they would tell her the truth, but he felt worse at deceiving her. They needed to get back to LA -- he missed Julie, he missed playing music, even more after their call yesterday.  </p>
<p>Last night, they managed to call Julie while Hailey went to the shops to pick up a few things she forgot for dinner. Flynn was with her and they were both stunned when the boys gave them a tour of the house. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“No need for you to come back here -- we will come there!” exclaimed Flynn excitedly. Julie elbowed her in reply. </p>
<p>“The place looks awesome boys” Julie smiled at them through the phone “I’m so happy that you have a good place to stay”</p>
<p>“It is but it doesn’t feel like home” commented Luke looking directly at Julie. Flynn sniggered and Julie blushed. </p>
<p>“You will be back here sooner than you think” replied Julie ignoring her friend “Also, I wanted to show you the lyrics that I came up with the other day…”  </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Flynn, Alex and Reggie groaned because they knew how their friends would get when they went into their writing modes. The three of them switched to their own phones so they could keep talking to each other. Luke wasn’t too bothered about them because he knew how much he needed this. He missed writing songs as much as he missed playing music - he needed to get back to LA now!  <br/>He knew that it wasn’t possible though. After he and Julie finished that lyrics, they regrouped with the others and they all agreed that it was much easier to wait until the boys would graduate. Both Reggie and Alex will be 18 by the time they graduate and it will be easy to tell Hailey everything. She wouldn’t be able to do much about it and Luke doubted she will make him stay in Boston until he turned 18 in September. Only 34 days to go to graduation. </p>
<p>The next morning Luke woke up to the smell of pancakes and a faint voice singing. He ventured downstairs into the kitchen where he saw Hailey flipping pancakes while loudly singing a song that Luke didn’t recognise straight away. It took him a few moments to realise that she was singing the ending song from Hairspray. Julie and Flynn loved movies and made them watch it, and Alex kept singing that song constantly for two weeks straight. When Hailey noticed him, she approached him while singing and reached out to him to pull him into a dance with her. He wasn’t going to join her, absolutely not, Luke Patterson will not dance to musical songs, but his resistance lasted for about 30 seconds, before he joined. He didn’t know how he knew the lyrics -- most likely their new them did and since they had this connection, Luke knew the lyrics too. He didn’t dwell much on it though because he was singing again and he felt so free and happy. He didn’t even notice Reggie and Alex watching them smiling from the kitchen door, but Hailey did and pulled the two of them into dancing with her too. They kept singing and dancing while trying to finish making breakfast and setting the table -- it was a mess, but they were having so much fun and when they finished, they plumped loudly in the chairs and bursted out laughing. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“That was so much fun, I love this song” exclaimed Reggie while piling up his plate with pancakes. </p>
<p>“I'm so glad that you still feel the same way about it” said Hailey</p>
<p>“Is this something we do often?” asked Luke.</p>
<p>“Every weekend more or less”  </p>
<p>“Really?” Reggie asked in between mouthfuls. Alex gave him a disgusted look. </p>
<p>“Yes, it became our ritual since I came to stay here” Hailey wanted to say more but she didn’t want to push. Thankfully Alex wanted to know more. </p>
<p>“Why is that?” </p>
<p>“It took a while for me and Luke to get settled into this new reality and of course, they two of you were always here, so getting the four of us settled into a new dynamic also took time.” explained Hailey “I remember that things started to settle when I realised that I couldn’t try to replace your parents, but I need to be me. And I love cooking breakfast, and I love blasting music and singing so that’s what I did. One weekend, you just joined in and it became our ritual since then” </p>
<p>“Is it always musical songs?” Luke couldn’t hide his slight disgust.</p>
<p>“No way! I would only put rock if I could but you guys love so many different genres that we rotate” </p>
<p>“Nice!” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>The rest of breakfast went quietly and just about as they were finishing, the doorbell rang. </p>
<p>Hailey was surprised because she wasn’t expecting anybody and she knew that the boys hadn't contacted any of their school friends. When she opened the door, a man and a woman stood in front of her. The woman was wearing something that came from a recent fashion runway with her makeup and hair done perfectly, while the man was wearing a casual suit that most likely was in a cover of Vogue. These were Philip and Amanda Winkler, Reggie’s parents. Hailey signed, she should’ve known better than to think that they will listen to anything she said to them. She was never able to stand them: they were shallow, selfish and cared more about rich and important people than their own child. Hailey only endured them for the sake of Reggie. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Hailey! How are you dear?” Amanda exclaimed loudly and gave Hailey a kiss on both cheeks. </p>
<p>“It’s great to see you Hailey. Is Reginald here? He wasn’t at the house and we wanted to see how he was doing after being in the hospital” Hailey tried very hard to keep calm and not get angry at him. </p>
<p>“Of course he is here, but I don’t think this is a good time…”</p>
<p>“Nonsense, he is our son. We want to see him” Amanda waved dismissively at Hailey and together with Philip pushed through Hailey and walked into the house. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Before Hailey could stop them or at least warn them, they managed to reach the kitchen where the boys started to tidy up. When they saw Amanda and Philip walk in, they froze. Amanda let out a loud squeal and went straight to Reggie. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Reginald, darling, you look great!” Amanda gave Reggie a kiss on each cheek, but the boy just stood there paralysed not knowing how to react. </p>
<p>“It’s good to see you son” Philip smiled at Reggie while patting his shoulder. </p>
<p>“Are you alright darling? You seem a bit flustered” commented Amanda. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Before Reggie could answer, Hailey jumped in. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Amanda, Philip. As I explained to you, the boys woke up from the coma with amnesia and they don’t have all their memories back” explained Hailey </p>
<p>“Oh. I know but we thought that since they let them back home, they were fine” Amanda frowned. </p>
<p>“What kind of doctors were they? I’ll make some calls and find some proper doctors that can solve this”  </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hailey closed her eyes trying to keep calm and she gave a quick look at the boys, who just felt lost. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“The doctors that attend to them were some of the best and there is nothing they can do. They just need time and take things easy. I think this might be too much for them” </p>
<p>“This is ridiculous, we are his parents” exclaimed Amanda, offended. </p>
<p>“They were in a coma for nearly a month, you could have come back home then” retorted Hailey. She was losing her patience.</p>
<p>“We were in the middle of organising that benefit for poor children of Thailand” replied Amanda angrily. </p>
<p>“The Thai King asked personally and we couldn’t say no” added Philip </p>
<p>“We had to help those poor children. Would have you preferred that we left those children on the street?” asked Amanda in an accusatory tone. “Plus we knew that our Reginald was in great hands!” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>The boys had recovered from initial the shock of meeting them but now they just stood stunned -- who the hell were these people? ‘Not sure which one of my parents are better’ thought Reggie grimly.  </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“And I am honoured that you trusted me with your son” Hailey approached Reggie and subtly pushed him away from his parents “But the boys need some time to adjust to everything. Why don’t we organise something for Reggie’s birthday next week?” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Amanda and Philip faces blank for a second before they recover quickly. ‘Did they forget their own son's birthday?’ thought Reggie </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“We would love to be here but we need to be in London then!” explained Amanda </p>
<p>“We are speakers at a humanitarian summit that we cannot cancel” Philip put a hand on Reggie’s shoulder “We will transfer some money so you can buys in style and buy yourself whatever you want, son”  </p>
<p>“Maybe you can get yourself a nice fancy watch? Or a nice suit? You will look so fancy, mat darling”</p>
<p>“No worries, we will send you some pictures from the party” Hailey smiled at them forcefully.</p>
<p>“That will be wonderful!” Amanda looked briefly at her watch and gasped “Oh my, look at the time. We need to rush darling or we will be late!”</p>
<p>“Indeed. Reginald, make sure to listen to Hailey and get better soon. We will see you soon” </p>
<p>“Yes, get better my darling boy. We will call you for your birthday!” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Amanda gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, waved at Luke and Alex and blew a kiss to Hailey before disappearing through the door. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Philip followed his wife but turned to Hailey swiftly. </p>
<p>“For the bills…”he started. </p>
<p>“Just put it in the fund” He nodded at her and left. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hailey let out a breath that she has been keeping in since they came to the house. It felt like they were there for hours but when Hailey looked at the clock, they didn’t even stay for 10 minutes. They were so intense -- was it too early for a drink? </p>
<p>She looked apprehensively at the boys, especially at Reggie, and she was about to ask them how they were, when the doorbell rang again. Hailey swore “Who the heck is it now?!”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Damn, this is going to hurt</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Here is the new chapter :) </p>
<p>Hope you like it!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hailey opened the door and standing in front of her there was a woman who was the complete opposite of Amanda. She looked young but her face looked aged, and she was wearing simple jeans with a long sleeved jumper. Leslie was Alex’s mother and former high school mate of Hailey’s. Leslie was nervously tugging the sleeve of her jumper which Hailey didn’t know if it was because she was seeing her son after a few months or because she has not touched any drugs for the last couple months. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Hi Hais” Leslie greeted her with her old nickname “Is this a good time? I saw the Winklers leaving…” Hailey waved her off. </p>
<p>“Of course, but just a quick hello. Is that ok?” </p>
<p>“Absolutely! I am so sorry I couldn’t come to the hospital but the program didn’t allow me to leave. It finished yesterday and I came as soon as possible” explained Leslie while she followed Hailey to the kitchen. </p>
<p>“I know, don’t worry about it. Just let Alex lead with the questions to avoid overwhelming him” Leslie nodded at her. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>When they got to the kitchen, the boys were still finishing tidying up. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Alex. There is somebody here for you” Hailey announced which made them stop what they were doing and turned to Hailey and Leslie. </p>
<p>“Hi Alex” said Leslie timidly. Alex stared at her for a second before realising who she was. He saw the pictures in his phone and he knew that this was his mom. </p>
<p>“Hi…” </p>
<p>“Hailey told me about the amnesia. I understand why you don’t remember me. You don’t have to worry about it”  Despite trying to sound reassuring, Alex could tell that she was hurt but also resigned, as if she expected that one day he won’t remember her. </p>
<p>“I’m sorry I don’t remember you”</p>
<p>“Don’t be. I’m just very happy that you are fine” Leslie gave a small smile to Alex. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Alex didn’t really know what to say and he never did well in this situation, thankfully Hailey intervened. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Do you want something to drink?” </p>
<p>“Oh no, no. I have an interview soon and I still need to prepare. I just wanted to quickly see how you were all doing” </p>
<p>“An interview? That’s amazing Les!” Hailey exclaimed to which Leslie smiled timidly and looked at her shoes. </p>
<p>“It’s just a waitressing job at a local dinner and part time but it's a start”</p>
<p>“That’s great. I am really happy for you” </p>
<p>“Thank you!”  </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Alex knew that he should contribute but he didn’t know how, and he was getting more and more uncomfortable. Leslie noticed though. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I should go, I don’t want to be late” She turned to Alex “It was good to see you. I hope to see you soon” Alex just nodded at her. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Leslie waved goodbye at Luke and Reggie, and Haley walked her to the door. Leslie impulsively hugged her. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Thank you again, Hailey. For everything you are doing for Alex </p>
<p>“It’s not a problem. Alex is an amazing kid” Leslie let go and smiled at her. Hailey could see that her eyes started to get wet. </p>
<p>“Keep me updated on how he is doing. I’ll let you know how the job goes” </p>
<p>“Of course! And good luck, you will do great!” </p>
<p>“Thank you. Bye, Hais” </p>
<p>“Bye Les”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hailey went back to the kitchen and signalled to the boys to come with her into the family room. They managed to avoid any family talk in the last few days but after the events of today, that wasn’t an option anymore.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Well, that was an intense morning” Hailey nervously smiled at them. </p>
<p>“You could say that…” Luke said. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>The room was engulfed into silence until Alex couldn’t stop himself anymore. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I know we should go slow, but I have so many questions. Why do I live with you? Why don’t I live with my own mother?”  </p>
<p>“It’s complicated”</p>
<p>“Why can’t adults just be honest?” Luke was getting frustrated, but it didn’t get lost on him that it was hypocritical of him to say that when they weren’t being honest with Hailey. </p>
<p>“I want to be. Trust me. I just don’t want to overwhelm you” </p>
<p>“You aren’t” Alex reassured her “Please tell me”  </p>
<p>“Ok.” Hailey sighed “Your mum had you when she was 17 years old. Your dad was an older boy that fled the moment she told him she was pregnant. She had postpartum depression and she couldn't afford the right help. She went through different addictions while your grandma raised you.” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Alex stayed silent and thought how different her old family was from his new him. His old family was a traditional family, well off, too religious that stopped them seeing him as their son when he told them he was gay. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Leslie is a good person, Alex. Yes, she made mistakes but it’s not easy to live with a mental illness. She loves you very much and she always tried to do her best for you” added Hailey. </p>
<p>“Why don’t I live with my grandma?” It felt like a rhetorical question but he thought he already knew the answer to that. </p>
<p>“She passed away four years ago and we decided that it made sense for me to become  your legal guardian since you lived half of your time here” </p>
<p>“But why? You didn’t have to do that” </p>
<p>“I didn’t but I wanted to” Hailey moved to kneel in front of Alex “I love you. Even if you are not my blood, you are part of our family and there is no way I was going to let go”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hailey gave his hand a loving squeeze while smiling at him. Something must have broken inside Alex because he just started crying and Hailey instinctively hugged him. Alex just let himself be hugged and feel the love. His family has always been Luke and Reggie, and then Julie became part of it but he missed having an adult he can rely on. They of course had Ray, but he never became close to Ray like Reggie was, and sometimes he just wanted to be a kid. Hailey didn’t let go until Alex was ready to and when he did, she smiled reassuringly at him. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Do you love me too? Is that why you took me in as well?” asked Reggie all of a sudden. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>He witnessed the exchange between Alex and Hailey, and he started to think about his old and new sets of parents. It seems that he is destined to always fall short in that area. He still didn’t know what’s worse though: parents that were always yelling or parents that were never there. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Of course, I do, Reg” Hailey gave him a quick hug “I love all of you” Reggie smiled at her.  </p>
<p>“Thank you for taking care of us and for putting up with my parents,” Hailey laughed. </p>
<p>“That's definitely the hardest part. They can be quite intense…” </p>
<p>“Oh yes, they can” Reggie shook his head in resignation. </p>
<p>“Thank you from me too, Hailey” </p>
<p>“Yes, thank you” mumbled Luke. </p>
<p>“Anytime boys” Hailey could feel her yes getting wet “Let me finish clean up and you can go chill” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>They were about to protest but Hailey was already out of the room. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Luke was still processing everything that happened and he kept thinking. Of course they had to tell Hailey about them, and they always thought that they would go their separate ways afterwards. Luke couldn’t imagine her sticking around but he wasn’t sure. The biggest problem though was that he wasn’t sure they wanted to cut her from their life. He looked at Alex and Reggie, and he knew they were thinking the same thing. Damn, this is going to be such a big bloody mess.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. We’re gonna do what we have to do</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hello, </p><p>New chapter is here :) it has a bit of a twist. Hope you enjoy it! </p><p>Thanks all so much for the kudos and comments (promise I'll go over them soon!) </p><p>Hope to post a new chapter in the next couple of days!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>In the following week, the boys took time to get settled back into their new lives. They were not going back to school for another couple of weeks, and they were relieved to learn that they were exempt from taking the last exams. Surprisingly, their grades were good enough that they could just graduate. However, to satisfy a theory that Carlos had, they reluctantly picked up their school books. Carlos believed that, because they were connected to their new selves memories and feelings, they also retain their knowledge. The boys were doubtful but they were shocked when Alex completed without an error an advanced algebra exercise. He had to triple check his answers because he was always so bad at math that he failed it twice! Carlos was very excited that his theory was proved, while the boys were just freaked out. ‘Why is there never a guide for these things?’ thought Alex frustrated.  </p><p>Hailey also made good on her promise and brought them shopping.They were so happy to finally wear some clothes that made them feel like them again - Luke couldn’t bear to look at a version of Nick staring back at him in the mirror one day longer. On the same day, she also drove them to a music store but they quickly made up an excuse and left after looking around for just 5 minutes. The thought of Hailey buying them new instruments didn’t sit well with them. They still didn’t tell her the truth but they never seemed to find the right time, and each day got harder and harder. They were spending more time with her and getting to know more about her, and she was cool! Even for Luke’s standards, she was a great, cool adult. First of all, she loved 80s and 90s rock music, with a good dash of pop but Luke didn’t count that in. Second, she was a bit of a prankster and had a slight dark humour. Third of all, she was an amazing cook but a terrible baker, even if she had a very sweet tooth. She was a lawyer and Luke learned that the firm where she was working was founded by his grandfather. She took his father’s position when he passed away but she also split her time at a family clinic where she helped low income and immigrant families. It also seemed she didn’t have a life outside of them and work. She never mentioned any specific person more than once and aside Phillip, Amanda and Leslie, nobody came over to the house. They knew she had friends: they heard speaking quite regularly to different people over the phone but they also learned that they all lived outside of Boston. </p><p>Today, they were just chilling in their rooms while Hailey took control of the kitchen to get ready for Reggie’s birthday that was tomorrow. They discovered that their new birthdays were not on the same days as their old birthdays, which made Reggie super happy because who wouldn’t not like having double birthdays. Hailey wanted to organise a fun day for the four of them, so she was taking them to Six Flags. Reggie couldn’t contain his excitement - he loved amusement parks!<br/>
Hailey had court in the morning but she will come back to pick them up and head straight to  Six Flags. However, Hailey wanted to make sure that this birthday was special so she wanted to organise a small surprise for Reggie in the morning.  She always tried extra hard on the boys birthdays to make sure they knew how much they were loved. </p><p>Luke was just working on some new lyrics to send to Julie later when his phone rang. He immediately smiled at the caller ID and quickly answered. </p><p> </p><p>“Hi Jules” he said when Julie’s smiling face came up on his screen. </p><p>“Hey. How is it going?”  </p><p>“Good, just writing some new lyrics. We are banned from going downstairs. Hailey has transformed into a Birthdayzilla while organising Reggie’s birthday” Julie laughed at that. </p><p>“Reggie must be so excited” </p><p>“Don’t get me started! He cannot seem to shut up about Six Flags, and what rides he wants to go on, what we should eat…” </p><p> </p><p>Even if Luke pretended to be annoyed, Julie knew he was happy that his friend was getting all this attention. Suddenly remembering why she called, Julie's face slightly fell which didn't go unnoticed by Luke. </p><p> </p><p>“What’s up Jules? Are you ok?” </p><p>“Yes, yes” Julie paused for a second “You remember when we applied to that emerging bands showdown” </p><p>“Of course I remember. They rejected us!” </p><p> </p><p>He was still annoyed at that. The showdown selected the best new talented emerging brands across the west coast, and many bands had been discovered by talent managers and record labels. It would have been an amazing opportunity for them and he was so angry when he got rejected. Some of the bands that they picked were nowhere near as good as them! </p><p> </p><p>“Well, they called me an hour ago” Julie explained. </p><p>“What? Why?” Luke was confused. </p><p>“One of the bands that was supposed to play had a massive fall out and pulled out at the last minute. They want us to replace them” </p><p>Luke looked at her in shock before realising what that meant. </p><p> </p><p>“Oh my god...oh my god...that’s….that’s freaking AWESOME” </p><p> </p><p>Luke couldn’t contain his excitement and started jumping on his bed, dropping his phone in the process. Reggie and Alex both heard his shouts from their rooms and ran over. They both looked at him like he lost his mind.<br/>
“What’s going on?” Alex asked tentatively and he started to genuinely worry for his friend when Luke approached him with a crazy smile. </p><p>“The showdown called Julie - they want us to play!” </p><p> </p><p>Alex and Reggie were stunned for a second but then their faces lit up and they both joined Luke, hugging each other. </p><p>Julie, who was still on the phone, was trying to get their attention but any attempt failed. She then shouted so loud that it was a miracle Hailey didn’t hear her from downstairs. </p><p> </p><p>“GUYS! GET BACK ON THE PHONE”</p><p> </p><p>Luke rushed over to get the phone that, in the commotion, had fallen on the floor. </p><p> </p><p>“Sorry Jules” He looked at her sheepishly. </p><p>“It’s ok. I couldn’t stop bouncing when they told me” </p><p> </p><p>They all had stupid excited smiles on their faces. Despite wanting to bask in the moment for as long as possible, Julie knew that she needed to bring up their biggest problem.</p><p> </p><p>“There is a problem though” Julie looked down. </p><p>“What is it?” Julie finally looked at them. </p><p>“The showdown is tomorrow at 5pm” </p><p>“What?”</p><p> </p><p>The boy's excitement completely deflated and their faces went blank. </p><p> </p><p>“No, no. The showdown is in June. I remember because it was the first week of your summer break.” </p><p>“That was the original date but they changed it. I think you don’t really remember because the day after they announced it, we got the rejection email” </p><p>“But tomorrow…” Reggie started and closed his eyes. </p><p> </p><p>He closed his eyes for a second to calm himself. This was an opportunity for a lifetime and they couldn’t not take it. But at the same time, he was looking forward to celebrating his birthday. The last time he properly celebrated it he was 12 years old and his parents organised a McDonalds birthday party for him. He ate so much cake and candy that day that he had been sick the next day. His mum took care of him and they watched cartoons their entire afternoon on the couch - that was the last comforting memory he had of her. </p><p> </p><p>“We don’t have to go, buddy” Luke put his arm around him. Reggie shook his head. </p><p>“That will be dumb. We can always celebrate my birthday another day, maybe on my actual birthday” Reggie gave them a smile but Luke, Alex, and Julie knew that he wasn’t 100% ok with it. Luke nodded at him before turning back to Julie. </p><p>“We need to figure out a way to get to LA” </p><p>“How do you think we will be able to fly over there?” Alex asked defeated “We are underage and we have no money”  </p><p>“That’s not true. Reggie will be 18 tomorrow and we have money. Well, Reggie has money” Reggie looked at him confused before a light switched on in his head. </p><p>“We do! They sent me money to buy whatever I want”</p><p>“Exactly!”</p><p>“And how are we going to explain to Hailey that we need to fly on the other side of the country? Especially since she has been so excited about tomorrow…” </p><p> </p><p>Alex didn’t want to dump his friends' excitement, but sometimes they didn’t think everything through. </p><p> </p><p>“We need to tell her the truth. Explain everything” </p><p> </p><p>Luke knew deep down that they would’ve never found the best time to tell her and they had just been stalling all this time. This was the push they needed.</p><p> </p><p>They agreed that they would tell her as soon as they booked flights, despite both Alex and Julie arguing that it would be best to speak to Hailey first before doing anything else. Luke stopped them and argued that it was easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. Booking flights took longer than expected because there were not many flights available at such short notice, and they ended up booking first class tickets so they could get to LA early enough to practice before the show. Luke wanted as much time to rehearse as possible -- the three of them didn’t touch an instrument in two weeks and he wanted all to be in their best shape and form. </p><p>After they flights were booked and they briefly touched on their setlist, Julie went to fill in Ray in the new developments and the boys took a deep breath before going to see Hailey. Before they even managed to reach the stairs, Hailey sprinted into the landing from her bedroom nearly crashing into Luke. </p><p> </p><p>“Sorry!” Hailey apologised steading Luke.  “I was about to come over” </p><p>“Is everything ok?” </p><p>“I need to rush to the police station. One of my clients go arrested” </p><p>“Ah” She was rushing down the stairs and they followed her. </p><p>“It shouldn’t take, it does sound like a misunderstanding”  </p><p>“We really need to talk to you” Alex said with a certain urgency. </p><p>“Is everything ok? Are you feeling ok?” Hailey asked apprehensively. </p><p>“We are fine. We really just need to tell you something” </p><p>“Can you tell me now?” </p><p>“It might take longer than a couple of minutes…” Hailey looked at them but then she looked at the clock and felt torn. </p><p>“Can you tell me later? I will be home in a couple of hours tops” </p><p>“I guess…” </p><p>“Thank you! I’ll be back soon! I’ll text you if something happens. Don’t go into the kitchen!!! See you later, love you!”</p><p> </p><p>The boys didn’t even manage to utter a goodbye that she was already out of the door. </p><p> </p><p>“And now what?” Alex started to freak out. </p><p>“Alex, don’t freak out” </p><p>“How can I not freak out. We are supposed to be on a plane in the early morning and we have not told her yet!”</p><p>“Yes, in a couple of hours when comes back” Luke reassured him</p><p>“Don’t worry, Lexi. We will tell her” Reggie squeezed his shoulder in reassurance but he was also freaking out inside. What if she didn’t come back on time?</p><p> </p><p>Alex calmed down and they decided that while they waited, they would start packing for tomorrow. Alex made sure to also set an alarm at 6am. This was the first time that they would actually take a plane and Alex was slightly apprehensive about it. Julie told them that they needed to be at the airport at least an hour and half before their departure time because of security and boarding, so they booked a taxi for just after 6am. </p><p>The packing didn’t take long and they decided to wait for Hailey in Luke’s room. They put one some old action movie to try to distract themselves, and they must have fallen asleep because they suddenly woke up to Alex's alarm. Alex quickly turned off the alarm and he looked at the boys alarmed. They didn’t have much time to talk to Hailey. Luke rushed out of his room and went straight to Hailey’s room, but she wasn’t there. The bed had not been touched. ‘Maybe she didn’t go to bed?’ he thought. He quickly went downstairs but all the lights were off and there were no sounds coming from the kitchen or the living room. He also checked the garage but Hailey’s car wasn’t there -- she didn't come back last night!  </p><p>Luke went back to his room and ignoring Reggie and Alex’s questioning glances, he grabbed his phone. She did say that she will text them if something came up and as he thought, she texted them last night telling them that she won’t be back after her court appointment and to enjoy the surprise in the kitchen in the meantime. </p><p> </p><p>“She didn’t come home and she won’t be home until after her court appointment” Luke finally explained to Reggie and Alex. Reggie went pale and Alex started to freak out. </p><p>“And now what?”</p><p>“We need to go to LA. We have to go” Luke was resolute. He was angry at himself for not telling Hailey sooner, but there was nothing they could do now. This was a life changing opportunity for them and they needed to go. </p><p>“We can’t! We need to tell her” </p><p>“We can’t just call her and tell her over the phone!” Luke snapped “We will come back after the showdown and tell her everything” </p><p>“She will be so mad at us. She might not want to see us ever again…” commented Reggie looking down. </p><p>“That won’t happen. Trust me boys, everything is going to work out” Luke smiled at them. </p><p> </p><p>He was trying to convince them as much as himself. He was feeling a pit in his stomach that he has not felt since he walked out of his parents.  </p><p>Alex’s phone buzzing interrupted the tension. Their taxi was here. They dressed up quickly before taking their bags and heading downstairs. While Alex and Luke were already at the door, Reggie made a beeline to the kitchen to see what Hailey had planned for him. His eyes started to tear up. All across the room there were gigantic pictures of what must have been from his past birthdays: Luke and Alex were in most of them while Hailey made an appearance in the last few. The very last one hung below a big “Happy Birthday Reggie” banner and it was blank where they would have put a photo from today. Colourful balloons were also scattered across the room and a two tier cake with Star Wars decorations took center stage on the kitchen island. It was perfect! Reggie couldn’t contain his tears and his heart ached in thinking that Hailey put all this effort, and it will all be for nothing. </p><p>He turned around to Alex and Luke who had followed him and he could see that both boys were fighting back tears. </p><p> </p><p>“I just hope what we are doing it’s worth it” He then walked out of the room followed by Alex. </p><p> </p><p>‘I hope so too’ Luke thought. He felt again that pit it in his stomach but ignored and followed them to awaiting taxi.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Quite a long chapter but I hope it was worth it. Next up - what's going to happen in LA? How is Hailey going to react when she realised they are gone? </p><p>Also I thought I clarify a couple of points: 1) I am not aware if you can skip exams in your last year if your grades are good enough. 2) The showdown doesn't exist 3) technically you can travel by plane unaccompanied by an adult if you are 17, but let's forget this detail for the sake of the story</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>